Whistling flying saucer toy

ABSTRACT

A flying saucer toy having angularly spaced whistles arranged around the periphery and an annular portion of the upper surface which is upwardly concave for increased lift.

United States Patent Torres Aug. 26, 1975 [54] WHISTLING FLYING SAUCER TOY 2.111 1.313 8/1935 Hcekin 46/228 2,117,133 5/1938 46/63 1761 lnvcmm f L f" 1739.065 3/1956 Hugin 46/179 x Sim (-1111? 9-13) 2,826,860 3/1958 Ashley Ct :11. 46/175 R a 3 099.l()5 7/1963 Martinez 46/175 R 1974 3.724.122 4/1973 Gillespie 1. 46/74 D 121 Appl. 190.; 441.032

Primary Examiner-F. Barry Shay {52] U S C] I I M 46/74 46/177 Attorney, Agent, or FirmRalph S. Branscomb [51] Int. Cl A63h 27/00 581 Field of Search 46/74 D, 175 R, 177. 52, 1571 ABSTRACT 46/63, 179 A flying saucer toy having angularly spaced whistles arrunged around the periphery and an annular portion [56] References Cited of the upper surface which is upwardly concave for UNITED STATES PATENTS Increased 522264 7/1894 Lumlcy 46/63 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures 18 2 'IO 28 26 24 14 22 as WHISTLING FLYING SAUCER TOY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to flying saucer toys of the type commonly tossed back and forth between two players.

Toys of this type have experienced widespread popularity in recent years and have not undergone a major design change since their inception.

Typically the saucer-shaped toy has a continuously curved convex upper surface and a correspondingly contoured lower surface. A few models display insignificant deviation from this simple shape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant invention is an improved flying saucer with superior flight characteristics and having as an additional feature a plurality of whistles which emit one or more tones in flight to increase the pleasure derived from the use of the toy.

The upper surface of the saucer is flat in its central area with an extensive surrounding portion which is upwardly concave to produce an increased vacuum over the central and trailing portions in flight. An inwardly bent rim provides a more streamlined cross-section and improved gripping surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the toy;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The circular body portion of the saucer, indicated generally at 10, is preferably composed of plastic and can be manufactured as a single unit. The body comprises a central portion 12 and a surrounding upwardly concave collar portion 14 which smoothly merges with a circumscribing lip or rim 16 which is inwardly bent as shown to reduce aerodynamic drag and provide for convenient engagement by the fingers of the user.

The annular collar 14 in its preferred form is upswept from the rim and upwardly concave in radial crosssections, as illustrated in FIG. 2. When the flying saucer is in flight, the portion of the collar which is instantaneously forward directs the impinging air stream upwardly, creating an elevating partial vacuum over the central portion 12 as well as the momentarily trailing portion of the collar.

The toy, constructed as described, has been tested against the conventional convex surfaced toys and has been found superior both in flight duration and length of the flight path.

A low shoulder 18 may be provided around the edge of the central portion 12. The shoulder is believed to produce a slight increase in the vacuum above the central portion. The remaining surface area of the central portion may have decorative relief thereon. In the illustrations, this area is used to display a trademark insignia and design 20.

Coming now to the salient feature of the invention, near the periphery of the body portion are disposed a plurality of angularly spaced air operated whistle elements 22. They are oriented to produce maximum amplitude when the airflow is tangential to the saucer at a point adjacent each whistle.

Although the whistles may be of any suitable construction, it is preferred that they be formed directly in the body of the saucer itself by raising a ramp-like portion 24 of the body to form a forward slot 26 and cutting a second slot 28 substantially parallel to the first slot. The rear of the second slot is bevelled to produce a reed 30. As air flows past the whistles, the first slot acts to scoop and columnize the air, directing it past the reed, which is set into vibratory motion and emits a tone.

The amplitude of the emitted tones are increased by the troughs 32, one of which is mounted beneath each whistle to form resonant chambers 34 which communicate with ambient air only through the whistle slots. These troughs can be attached by ultrasonic welding, which is probably the best method, or by the use of cement or other conventional means.

The construction of the forward shoulders 36 of the troughs should be noted since this particular configuration, by giving a flush joint, produces a continuous channel for the air entering the whistles so that the air column sweeps past the reed in a manner typical in whistles of this type. The dictates of economical mass production proscribe the use of an extension of the lip of the body of the saucer adjacent the whistle to serve the function of the shoulder 36.

Since the volume of the resonant chambers determine the whistle pitch, it is contemplated that the different resonant chambers may vary in volume so that a multi-toned musical chord is produced. The ambient air speed also controls pitch to some extent, as well as sound amplitude, and because the relative air speed at each whistle varies cyclically according to its instantaneous angular position on the saucer relative to the flight path, an oscillating or warbling tone is produced by each whistle which, combined with the different pitches of the various whistles, is suggestive of the sound fancifully attributed to flying saucers.

Although the peripheral distribution of the troughs 32 advantageously increases the moment of intertia of the saucer, the inclusion of too many of them causes the overall weight of the saucer to exceed acceptable limits. For this reason, dummy whistles 38 may be molded into the body which have no associated resonant chambers and serve no function aside from improving the aesthetics of the toy and creating a more interesting appearance.

Two other advantageous features which result from the design of the saucer should be noted at this point. First, because the peripheral weight distribution required to produce the necessary gyroscopic effect is provided by the resonant chamber troughs 32, the rim 16 need not be thickened and can be very flexible. As the toy does reach fairly high velocities at times and is often used in crowded beach and park areas, the yielding rim construction is a safety feature.

The other feature, which is an incidental advantage resulting from the concave collar arrangement, is the inherent resistance of the toy to warping. Prior art saucers, having lower profiles than the instant invention, have exhibited a tendency to warp and become useless over relatively short periods of storage or use time.

The invention as illustrated in the drawings is obviously intended to rotate clockwise as seen from the top, which corresponds to the normal rotational mode when tossed by the right hand in accordance with conventional tossing techniques. Clearly the whistle direction could be reversed to produce a left-handed model, or some of the whistles only reversed for an ambidextrous version. The whistles may of course be provided in numbers other than three.

The toy can be economically and easily produced by molding the entire structure except the troughs 32 as one piece, and subsequently adding the separately formed troughs as discussed above. Coloring or printing may be added as desired.

I claim:

1. A hand-tossed flying saucer toy comprising:

a body portion having top and bottom sides, said top side including an upper circular central portion substantially defining a plane, a lower circular boundary and an annular collar integral with the periphery of the central portion and sloping downwardly away from said plane to said boundary;

a downwardly extending rim circumscribing and integral with said boundary;

at least one-air-activated whistle element positioned substantially at the periphery of said collar;

said whistle element comprising an upwardly raised an elongated trough sealed on the side of said body portion remote from said raised portion;

said trough, together with the body portion, defining a substantially enclosed resonant chamber communicating with said two slots; and

said trough including a forward shoulder having an upper surface substantially flush with that of said collar and adjacent said first mentioned slot to define a continuous channel adjacent said first mentioned slot to direct a sweeping flow of air toward said reed in use. 

1. A hand-tossed flying saucer toy comprising: a body portion having top and bottom sides, said top side including an upper circular central portion substantially defining a plane, a lower circular boundary and an annular collar integral with the periphery of the central portion and sLoping downwardly away from said plane to said boundary; a downwardly extending rim circumscribing and integral with said boundary; at least one-air-activated whistle element positioned substantially at the periphery of said collar; said whistle element comprising an upwardly raised portion in said body portion having a slot at one side thereof adjacent the surrounding body portion for the admission of air, and having at a position angularly displaced on said raised portion from said first-mentioned slot with reference to said body portion a second slot having an edge thereof remote from said first slot which is bevelled to define a reed to engage air admitted through said first slot: an elongated trough sealed on the side of said body portion remote from said raised portion; said trough, together with the body portion, defining a substantially enclosed resonant chamber communicating with said two slots; and said trough including a forward shoulder having an upper surface substantially flush with that of said collar and adjacent said first mentioned slot to define a continuous channel adjacent said first mentioned slot to direct a sweeping flow of air toward said reed in use. 